Tahoe resorts don’t score well with magazine readers
In Ski magazine’s annual readers’ survey of best ski resorts, no Tahoe area resort made it in the top 10.
Mammoth, which has long been eyed by Vail Resorts as its possible next acquisition, came in at No. 14. Heavenly is No. 22, Squaw No. 24 and Northstar No. 25.
These are the rankings for the West. The magazine divides the resorts between East and West.
Here is how the Tahoe area resorts did in the specialized categories:
• Grooming – Northstar, No. 4
• Scenery – Heavenly, No. 3; Homewood, No. 4
• Terrain variety – Mammoth, No. 5
• Terrain parks – Mammoth, No. 2; Northstar, No. 3
• Family programming – Northstar, No. 3.
The text accompanying Heavenly’s uncomplimentary rating in this issue (October 2013) describes South Lake Tahoe to be “one of the grittiest ski towns in America”, and Heavenly to be “naughty natured”. One can only wonder what Heavenly does that is “naughty”.
As with this issue, Tahoe ski areas have never advertised heavily in SKI Magazine, which is directly reflective in the Colorado-based magazine’s unflattering Tahoe area ratings.
Surprised Home wood was even mentioned, they must have deeper pockets than I thought.
FYI Ski magazine is a joke.
And there is that pesky little problem of No snow last winter.
Everyone I talk to or blog with had a BLAST at Mt. Rose this past winter.
And did not walk away feeling like they had been financially raped.
Heavenly, 104$ for a day ticket. Any idea how many people just said no to that this past winter.
Tahoe’s problem is transportation. Want to see day & night when it comes to transportation?
Look at Northstar, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows & Sugar Bowl. Those ski areas are packed. Why? Airports and highways for people to get there, easily.
Heavenly, Kirkwood & Sierra have always struggled as a result of challenging transportation options. Not that they’re bad ski resorts, to the contrary, they’re great. But getting there from afar is no easy task.
The gondola should be the crown jewel of accessability for high paying travelers with very easy access to the mountain within walking distance of thousands of high end beds. But oh no, Heavenly on great powder days searches the lame excuse bag to not honor it’s contract with the USDA to provide access to one of the greatest mountains on the planet. Coupled with December2013 free Blue Go rides that didn’t go anywhere for over an hour(when 2 buses were scheduled) and when they did show up there was no room for more passengers who didn’t shove their way on. South shore definitely maintained it’s image the last few years of being “naughty”.
Wow
$104. dollars a day for a lift ticket is unbelievable, I used to work at Heavenly Valley. When it first opened it was 2.50 a day and 1.75 for a half day, there were 2 runs, Patsy’s and Gunbarrel. I worked there for 6 years and when I left there were 6 chair lifts and 2 rope tows and the price was $4.50 a day and 2,75 for a half day And No LINES, now long lines and $104,and you might get in a half dozen rides in a day, how can anyone afford that???? Get a pair of Cross Country Skis and go to Hope Valley and enjoy the Country for FREE. If you quit paying those huge prices they will lower them.
Adjusted for inflation, and the amount of terrain, at about $500, give or take $100, a pass at Heavenly is a bargain. Miss the bring your own food bbq though.
Old Timer, Perry R Obray
I started skiing at Heavenly Valley in 1962. There were 3 chair lifts and two rope tows and they were just getting started on building the tram, where I worked from 72′ till 76′. Many fond memories of that place! $104 for a day ticket seems crazy to me. The season passes are still fairly reasonable though.
Perry , the bring your own food to the BBQ was alot of fun, especialy on the last day of the season, what a party!
I can no longer ski due to bad knees but there’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. I sure miss it!
As far as Heavenly’s ranking goes its always been rated in the top 10 as best as I remember. Rating by Ski magazine means nothing to most skiers.
Heavenly has a good reputation as a big mountain with LOTS of great runs and fantastic views.
Now if we could just improve on So. Shores reputation all wiil be right in the world(or at least our little corner of it).Take care, Old Long Skiis
As a former editor of a ski magazine, I can tell you that Heavenly is one of the best and most visually stunning ski resorts in the world. Heavenly’s tree skiing is mostly hidden, but it is certainly world class. Grooming at Heavenly is seamless and unmatched by any other resort I’ve ever seen. The 3,500 vert of off piste skiing from Fire Break to the gondola is an amazing amount of vertical for any single lift served run. Heavenly is always one of the first resorts to open and one of the last to close. Even better, they actually open their lifts on time or early, which is not that common in the ski world. Also, I defy anyone to find a friendlier, more helpful staff than the great folks at Heavenly. Kudos to the management as well, who go to embarrassing lengths to recognize and reward locals. Hell, these guys have even reopened the mountain after a late snow, just for us locals.
Squaw is rated number one by Outside magazine, a much more credible source than the corporate slugs at Ski magazine. In fact, I was continually underwhelmed by the journalists from Ski and Skiing, most of whom where hopeless intermediate skiers. To them, it is a complete mystery why the world’s greatest skiers and riders spend at least part of their career at this expert’s paradise. On the other hand, Squaw takes a longtime to learn, with most of the obvious runs dwarfed by hidden stashes of steeps and deep pow. While it is true that Squaw can get skied out in an hour, they tend to open lifts one at a time on pow days, which means you can legally poach untracked lines well past lunch.
Last, but certainly not least, is the hidden treasures of Kirkwood, a powder mecca that rarely disappoints. If you want boot top pow, go to Colorado, but if you want bottomless, overhead, choker powder, Kirkwood is one of the best resorts on the planet. Kirkwood gets monster dumps and their parking lot at the bottom is nearly as high as the top of KT-22, which is why the pow is so superior at the Wood.
Steve I think you hit the nail on the head. And let me add one more of Heavenly’s assets (at least for me and many locals): Convenience! From my driveway to sitting on Gun-barrel chair is usually about 10 minutes. And I would have to argue that Heavenly’s grooming and snow-making departments are quite possibly the best on the planet. After five knee surgeries I’ve become what I like to call a “corduroy cowboy”, unless there are some soft bumps, and Heavenly has the best daily corduroy in the world. Usually regardless of the mountains snow conditions.